Dubrovnik - good home base for day trips?

The Dubrovnik area is a good home base, but rather than stay right in Dubrovnik we prefer staying in Cavtat. It's a pretty little village just south of Dubrovnik, very close to the Dubrovnik airport (but no worries about airplane noise). You can easily get into Dubrovnik via bus or boat for a day of sightseeing, but then you can escape back to pretty Cavtat. Google it -- it's gorgeous.

With four nights, you could check the cruise ship schedules and plan your Dubrovnik visit for a day that's not overrun with tourists.

On another day, you could rent a car and drive into Montenegro (or take a tour bus, or hire a driver). The coastline is absolutely gorgeous, especially the Bay of Kotor. Be sure to bring an International Driver's Permit (IDP) with you if you intend to rent a car. You can pick one up at AAA for around $20.

And/or you could take a boat trip. I don't think you need to book these ahead, but I've never been there in July so it might be best to check with your hotel. We did the Elaphites island tour, which was fun. We caught our boat right from Cavtat (no need to go into Dubrovnik).

Regarding hotels, see if there's availability at Villa Andro in Cavtat. He has apartments in a perfect location, which would be perfect for you & your kids, but he's popular so he may be booked up already.

I agree that Cavtat is quite pretty but I would stay in Dubrovnik proper. Cavtat is really small and does not have the "Venetian" sort of feel that Dubrovnik does.

It's wonderfully pleasant to wander at night and loaded with tiny walkways and cafes. Moreover, having a nightly drink at one of the restaurants that seem to be attached to the city walls and therefore hang out overlooking the Adriatic Sea is quite spectacular. There's early morning farmer's markets for food.

I really liked Dubrovnik - I know people here say it's crowded, but lots of places are crowded and it usually doesn't cancel out their enjoyability. We did try to choose our days when there were fewer cruise ships in town using this site: http://dubrovnik-port.com. Pick the most crowded days and do your day trips then. You'll still get to enjoy wandering the streets in the evening and avoid some of the crowds.

Just to add what others said:
1) do not stay in old town. Rather stay just outside of old town. The many villas just south of old town offer spectacular views and wonderful terraces.

Day trip recommendations:
1) sea kayak around the islands. Outdoorcroatia.com is the best in the business IMO..and I am a kayaker in the states.
2) over night trip to Mostar...or at the very least get up very early and drive to Mostar. The visit to Bosnian was an amazing experience.
3) take the ferry to visit the islands off the coast.
4) rather than stay just outside of plitvice lakes, we stayed in Sibenik, rented a room with an amazing view. Visited the town that evening, then got up early and drove to plitvice.

Thanks so much for all the advice, I will look in to Cavtat, and the tip about the International Drivers permit is a good one - didn't know.

HI I was in Croatia for several weeks Spring 2016. I liked renting a place with kitchen in LAPAD. Ot was very convenient to a beach area/ grocery store/ cafes and bars PLUS the local bus is frequent and cheap AND YOU ARE DROPPED OFF RIGHT BY THE GATES OF THE WALLED CITY.

We took our girls when they were teenagers, stayed in Lapad,and then again as young adults, stayed inside the walls of old town 2x. We prefer staying inside the walls. Just walking out of your hotel and being on the stradun is worth it. As mentioned , the morning market, there is a small grocery store, the beach is A short walk, can be there at 7:30 am, swim, walk back to your room, shower and be ready for a day a sightseeing refreshed. the ferry to Lokrum is also a short walk, can go swimming there too. I wouldn't consider it a day trip because the ferry is about 10-15 minutes and unless you go swimming, it won't take to long to walk around. You can hike up to the fort for some nice views. When staying in the old town you Can head back for an afternoon nap when it is 95 degrees. Also, everything is close so you don't have to "pack" a day bag cause you can just pop into your room and pick up, drop off things as necessary. It is so convenient. When we stayed in Lapad, once we went back to our hotel, we didn't go back into the city. Just a note: There is almost no shade when walking the wall so be prepared with sunblock, hat, and water. We are going again July 2018 and will stay inside the walls.

I have heard staying inside the wall great. Any recommendations on accommodation there. My husband and I are traveling their mid September this year?

We stayed at Villa Adriatic. It is on the northeast end of Dubrovnik, right outside the gates and has a huge terrace overlooking the city and the old port. It was perfect because it was close enough to pop in for a rest and the views were spectacular as we drank a glass of wine.

Walk out to Banje Beach and you will see numerous kayak trips being offered to go around Lokrum. Pick the time and price that works for you. We had a great afternoon viewing the city from the water ! Wow !

Four days sounds nice for Dubrovnik, but the two-day part (driving to Plitvice--check the drive time--then to where you need to be for a Paris flight {Zagreb, Zadar} sounds a bit rushed.
If you do not have your heart set on Dubrovnik, Split would also work and would put you a little closer to Plitvice.
Let us know the kinds of day trips you wish to do--and importantly the distance of those (i.e., drive time to Mostar and Montenegro may be too much) and any others you had identified as of interest.